Deliberations start Wednesday in John Wiley Price trial

The fate of Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price and longtime assistant Daphney Fain is in the hands of the jury after closing statements on Tuesday.

The government began its closing talking about how Price sacrificed the county for selfish gain while defense attorney Tom Mills held up a business card, telling jurors the government's case is so thin that it doesn’t pass scrutiny.

Prosecutors said the evidence clearly shows Price and Fain are guilty of the crimes they are charged with and asked jurors to find them guilty on all counts. Prosecutors repeatedly used words like conspiracy, corrupt and concealment. At one point prosecutors said Price had a checking account in his mother’s name to conceal bribe payments.

Attorney Chris Lewis, who observed the lawyers and jurors during closing statements, said the defense continued to hammer at the prosecution’s case.

“The defense said this was not a conspiracy, this was something different and if the government wasn’t so intent on getting John Wiley Price and Daphney Fain -- if they could have opened their eyes and seen the whole picture -- they would see it’s not what they are claiming that it is,” Lewis said.

Protesters and supporters of Price were outside the federal building on Tuesday morning. Price's supporters were steadfast in standing by the man who they say has stood for them.

“John works hard for us and I’m going to support him to the end. I don’t believe nothing nobody says about John because I know how he is, I know how hard he works for us,” said supporter Annie Rose Mays. “Have 30-something years he’s been working for us downtown and all of a sudden everybody, these righteous folks, trying to pull him down.”

Jurors will begin deliberations Wednesday morning. Two alternates will be in the judge's chambers until deliberations are over.